 A Black Sheep Coffee branch in Bishopsgate, London | |
| Industry | Coffee shop |
|---|---|
| Founded |
|
| Founder | Gabriel Shohet and Eirik Holth |
| Headquarters | Stockwell, London, England |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Coffee, tea, sandwiches, sweet snacks and iced drinks |
| Website | leavetheherdbehind |
Black Sheep Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain headquartered in London, England.
Black Sheep Coffee was founded in 2013 by Gabriel Shohet and Eirik Holth who had been flatmates together at the University of St Andrews. [1] [2] In 2014, they raised £23,000 on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. [3]
In June 2019, Black Sheep Coffee raised £13 million, bringing the total raised to £19 million, all from private investors and valuing the business at £109.2 million. [3] Later that year, Black Sheep took over eight stores from rival Taylor St Baristas which was entering administration. [4] [5]
In 2021, Black Sheep received investment from basketball player Kristaps Porziņģis, to support expansion into the US. [6] In 2022, the UK government became a shareholder in Black Sheep Coffee when it was backed by the Future Fund, a scheme to support companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. [7] [8] By March 2023, Black Sheep Coffee had more than 50 locations in the UK. [1]
Black Sheep Coffee is known for using robusta coffee beans in its premium coffee, "at a time when everyone believed 100% Arabica to be the only premium species of coffee". [9]
Its shops offer a range of barista prepared coffees, smoothies, pastries, bagels, toasties, and Norwegian waffles. A number of shops serve alcohol of an evening, including espresso martini cocktails. [10]
Black Sheep Coffee's beans are available to purchase in-shop and online.
Black Sheep Coffee's shops are mostly concentrated within London, England, where it is headquartered. As of May 2023, 43 of its shops are located within London and 26 are located elsewhere in the United Kingdom. As of April 2024, they list 4 sites in UAE for planned locations. [11]
| Country | Number of locations |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | 69 |
 France | 1 [12] |
 Philippines | 2 [12] |
 United States | 1 [13] |
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971, and is currently the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
A barista is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks and other beverages.
Tully's Coffee is an American specialty coffee manufacturing brand owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, which acquired Tully's brand and wholesale business in 2009.
Illycaffè S.p.A. is an Italian coffee company specializing in espresso, headquartered in Trieste. Illy markets its coffee globally in silver and red pressurized, oxygen-free cans; operates a network of cafes on shopping streets, in museums, and in airports; and, since 2009, has marketed a line of coffee-flavoured energy drinks as illy issimo.
International Coffee & Tea, LLC, doing business as The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, is an American coffee shop chain founded in 1963. Since 2019, it is a trade name of Ireland-based Super Magnificent Coffee Company Ireland Limited. Its 80% stake is by multinational company Jollibee Foods Corporation. It operates as an independent subsidiary and remains headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Costa Limited, trading as Costa Coffee, is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, England.
Tchibo is a German chain of coffee retailers and cafés known for its range of non-coffee products that change weekly. The latter includes: clothing, furniture, household items, electronics and electrical appliances. In Germany, Tchibo's slogan is "Every week a new world". Tchibo has further expanded its product range to sell services such as travel, insurance, and mobile-phone contracts.
Gimme! Coffee is a coffee roaster and third-wave coffee shop, based in New York, US, with espresso bars in Ithaca and Trumansburg. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gimme! in 2020 closed the Manhattan and Brooklyn-based locations, and began an Ithaca-area delivery service. Gimme! Coffee also has a wholesale service that caters to coffee and espresso establishments. In January 2020, Colleen Anunu replaced founder Kevin Cuddeback as CEO after he had served 20 years in the role; Anunu then made the company into a worker-owned cooperative, which it remains in July 25, 2022. Gimme says that it forms relationships with farmers who grow coffee; farmers may receive a price premium which can help them improve their operations.
Barista is a chain of espresso bars and cafes that operates in the Indian subcontinent. It is headquartered in Gurugram, India, and maintains outlets across India, and in other regional countries such as Sri Lanka, and Maldives. It is the oldest coffee house chain in India and is currently India's second-largest coffee chain with over 425 cafes as of March 2024. It also sells a number of FMCG products through Modern & General retail stores across multiple locations.
Dutch Bros Inc., originally written Dutch Bros., is a publicly held drive-through coffee chain in the United States. Founded in 1992 by Dane and Travis Boersma, it is headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, with company-owned and franchise locations primarily located in the western United States although the company has expanded as far east as Davenport, Florida.
Third-wave coffee is a movement in coffee marketing emphasizing high quality. Beans are typically sourced from individual farms and are roasted more lightly to bring out their distinctive flavors. Though the term was coined in 1999, the approach originated in the 1970s, with roasters such as the Coffee Connection.
James Alexander Hoffmann is an English barista, YouTuber, entrepreneur, coffee consultant, and author. Hoffmann first came to prominence after winning the World Barista Championship in 2007 and has since been credited as a pioneer of Britain's third-wave coffee movement. Hoffmann has published three books, including The World Atlas of Coffee, amassed a significant following on YouTube, started several businesses, including the specialty coffee roaster Square Mile Coffee Roasters, and consulted for several coffee ventures.
Tata Coffee was an Indian company that produced coffee, tea, pepper and related products. It was a subsidiary of Tata Consumer Products, and part of the Tata Group. Tata Coffee was merged with Tata Consumer Products on 1 January 2024.
A bikini barista is a woman who works as a barista, preparing and serving coffee beverages, while dressed in scanty attire such as a bikini, lingerie or a crop top combined with bikini bottoms or hotpants. In the United States, this marketing technique originated in the Seattle, Washington area in the early 2000s. Similar phenomena have appeared in countries such as Chile and Japan since at least the 1980s.
Seattle is regarded as a world center for coffee roasting and coffee supply chain management. Related to this, many of the city's inhabitants are coffee enthusiasts; the city is known for its prominent coffee culture and numerous coffeehouses.
Farmer Bros. Co. is an American coffee foodservice company based in Northlake, Texas. The company specializes in the manufacture and distribution of coffee, tea, and approximately 300 other foodservice items used by restaurants and other establishments. D. Deverl Maserang II serves as the President and CEO of the company.
Patisserie Valerie is a chain of cafés that operates in the United Kingdom. The chain specialises in cakes, and its menu includes continental breakfasts, lunches and teas and coffees. The company went into administration in January 2019, prior to a management buyout funded by Causeway Capital Partners, an Irish company.
Starbucks, an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain, was the subject of multiple controversies. Public and employee criticism against the company has come from around the world, including a wide range issues from tax avoidance in Europe, anti-competitive practices in the United States, human rights issues in multiple countries and labor issues involving union busting, questions about pay equity and ethics in partnerships in Africa.
Taylor St Baristas was a British coffee shop chain, with 10 branches, nine in central London, and one in New York City.
Blank Street is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain. It was launched in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2020. As of December 2022, the company operates 57 locations in New York, London, Boston, and D.C.